Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Wile E. Coyote moment...

Regular readers of Shatner's Toupee will know that the institution to which we belong, The William Shatner School of Toupological Studies, takes its mission to learn all that can be learned about William Shatner's hair very seriously. As part of our efforts, the WSSTS has a network of global listening stations that scan all forms of publicly disseminated media twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week - anything related to "Shatner" and "hair" or "toupee" or "bald" or several other special words is instantly flagged and sent along to the relevant analyst to be triaged and assessed.

One of the latest reports to find its way to our analysts noted Bill Shatner mentioning somebody else's hair. Unusual. Uncommon. Interesting...

The incident is related to a May 2010 appearance by Bill Shatner on the late-night talk show Lopez Tonight. During his interview, Bill Shatner engages in some joking and platonic flattery of host George Lopez. "I've never noticed how cute you are," Bill Shatner says, before adding and gesturing, "You've got the little eyes and the little mouth and the little nose and the little hair atop up there..."

Lopez laughs along, but as Bill Shatner reaches the hair part, he evidently realizes that he is having something of a Wile E. Coyote moment. In the Warner Bros. series Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, the poor Coyote would sometimes get so enthusiastic in his futile chasing of the Road Runner, that he would suddenly realize he'd run right of a cliff.

Sometimes he'd hang in the air for a while; it wasn't until his mind had fully digested the gravity of the situation that actual gravity finally took over and he began to fall.

A similar moment is evident in the Lopez interview. Bill Shatner is going at full speed until he apparently and very suddenly realizes and digests two simple truths: Wile E. Coyote should probably give up chasing the Road Runner, and he probably shouldn't publicly dwell on other people's hair too much. The sound of brakes screeching can almost be heard...but, thankfully, within a second or even less, Bill Shatner has recomposed himself and quickly shifted to another topic.

A clip of the moment can be watched below, with the full interview viewable here.

Lopez and Bill Shatner evidently get on very well. Perhaps if Lopez were a little quicker and a little more daring, we could have witnessed some witty toupological banter: "I'm glad you like my hair, Bill. I like yours too. Could I borrow it sometime?"

Bill Shatner then goes on to perform a duet of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with Taiwanese singer Lin Yu Chun - clip here. Two unique hairstyles, two unique talents - it seems like a match made in heaven!

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HatsOffBob and others debate the Katz approach and Shatner is cited. Of course, how does HatsOffBob get his info? Or, is he Toup Throat himself?

Here's one posting:

"I have seen an Ed Katz system in person. It was the most impressive hair system I have ever seen, but let me explain its quirks....

"Ed Katz makes, essentially, only one kind of system. It is a 3/4 wig and is made with SYNTHETIC hair only. It's not available in human hair. I know, I know....it seemed really odd to me too! The wearer is required to shave his head, except for the back of the head and nape of the neck. As far as I know, the hair is always cut short.

"If you want to visualize what his systems look like, watch William Shatner in a re-run of Boston Legal - he is wearing an Ed Katz system. The system I saw looked exactly like William Shatner's - even the color.

"Now for the most interesting part. His knotting is different from anything I have seen anywhere else, regardless of price - and I have seen several Farrell systems. I held that system up to the light so I could get a good look at the base (mono) and knotting and was just blown away.

"So if you like a short style, want to shave your head and can afford the price, it's definitely worth considering. Unlike Farrell's pieces, with Ed Katz, you're really getting something special and unique for your money."

There's some debate in the postings as to whether the Katz look is a good or a bad thing. Also, I agree with other postings at this site that it's an augmented Katz or something other than the daily Katz that Shat wore for Boston Legal. And, at one time, I thought Shat probably wore a Farrell piece (but apparently not), which is mentioned in the posting.

Also, as I've posted previously, I've thought that Shat and Burt Reynolds have seen the same toupmaker since the early 1990's. HatsOffBob suggests they indeed both wear Katz pieces now, although again, how he would know this is a mystery.

"And while in my lifetime I've seen science make extraordinary inroads into solving the most complex questions of life, after all this time I admit that I am thrilled that there are some things that forever will remain a mystery. For example, do I wear a toupee?"

"May I say that this is the most delightful blog I have discovered in many a moon. It's informative without being cruel, and there's genuine affection for Mr. Shatner. Well done." - A reader's kind comment.

Commenting

We have been trying to encourage non-registered commenters to select the "Name/ URL" option and type in a username (anything at all). This eliminates the "anonymous" tag and helps other commenters to know who is saying what. Thanks! -ST